Exactly 2 weeks away from speaking at TEDx University of Nevada. I have 14 days to memorize a 10-minute script with no slip ups, and give the best speech of my life.
I’m somewhere between, “Man, WTF did I get myself into? There’s no way I’m gonna be able to do this… ” and “Dude…you’re gonna fu#*!%@n kill it. So, go fu#*!%@n kill it!!!”
Just a little background on this…On October 1, 2014, I took part in the Nevada Student Speaker Competition at the University of Nevada, Reno.
I got to speak at this event for submitting this quick video, a 1-minute poem about my stutter.
At this event, I was one of 7 student participants who spoke in front of 400+ people and presented their “idea worth spreading.”
The topics spoken on ranged form politics to social awareness to environmental health … and then there was me. I spoke about my stutter.
To my surprise, the speech went surprisingly well. I recited it with passion & purpose – and I received a great response from the crowd.
And to my even bigger surprise – I won the competition and was awarded a spot at the TEDx University of Nevada event in January 2015
Truth be told, I was just incredibly grateful and appreciative for the opportunity to share my story and ideas with people who are receptive to them.
I got a ton of congratulations yesterday from my family, my brothers, co-workers, new connections, old connections, strangers … but the highlight of the night was definitely when I was finally walking out of the building after all the hoopla was over, and a young woman approached me. She said she was very inspired and motivated by my speech, since she stutters too. We talked for a quick minute, I told her I appreciated her reaching out to me & to keep being great. That moment made all the preparation, planning and anxiety worth it.
Here was my talk at the Nevada Student Speaker Competition.
So, now we’re here. I’m 14 days away from speaking at TEDx.
This is the big one.
I’m practicing diligently every morning & every night just so I can make the most of this opportunity.
Keep me in your prayers!
Click Here To View The TEDx Live Stream, Starting At 9am On Friday, January 23..
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